Text 21454, 94 rader
Skriven 2007-10-17 15:53:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: otter creek 301
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We started with the very clean Graham Beck rose sparkling
wine (South Africa), which the server cheekily said she
would serve us only because she liked it so much; it was
pleasantly berrylike, good balance, fairly neutral.

Carol started with cod cakes with microgreens (cilantro,
baby beet among them), which were quite good; in a reversal,
I had a salad: fennel, treviso, and prosciutto, nicely
presented, the ham slice fashioned into a cone holding the
lemoned fennel, two big leaves of treviso (a long variety
of radicchio) sticking out like bunny ears.

Carol's main course was the chef's special - a tower of,
top to bottom, shiitake, grilled tofu, sliced cucumbers,
and sushi rice, surrounded with the seaweed salad that you
get for free in Japanese restaurants. I laughed at her for
getting it. She said it was delicious. I laughed at her for
saying it was delicious and refused a taste of it. She said
it was so delicious it must have crack in it or something.
I continued to laugh at her and again refused a taste of it.

My Pacific cod with bacon and corn chowder, ordered rare,
echoed a squab with bacon and corn chowder that I'd once had
at Masa's in San Francisco. An excellent dish, the bacon
probably that same Dakin stuff from breakfast, the corn
probably also local. It was served with three fat spears of
al dente asparagus, probably not local.

With all my food I stuck with the Tiefenbrunner Pinot Gris,
which was as expected, pleasantly citrusy and refreshing;
Carol stuck with the bubbly, and everyone was happy.

Desserts didn't particularly appeal, so I just had a glass
of Sandeman Founder's Reserve Porto, which I've grown
accustomed to (in the same way as I've grown accustomed to
Courvoisier VSOP from having it served on the airline);
Carol had a Keoke coffee (one of those frou-frou drinks),
which she pronounced also delicious. A pleasant surprise,
the dining room food, and it probably clinched our resolve
to return to this place some day (that and the screened
porch of the cottage).

Next day, breakfast for me started off the same (pork
products and hash), but I decided to try the pastry cook's
work - a pretty okay mini sticky bun, a quite good raised
doughnut, and a nasty bear claw, of which I ate only part
- it was horrendously sweet but spoiled-tasting at the same
time; couldn't figure that out: probably made to use up
sour milk.

The guys at the next table were talking about the Culinary
Olympics; one of them was telling stories of working with
Henry Haller, back in the day, another discussing how to get
a whole batterie de cuisine into a box that would fit under
the airplane seat in front of you. Perked my ears up.

Carol had her heart set on the Vermont Soap Factory and
Museum and convinced me that I could drown my boredom at the
brewery down the street. Well. Both are north of Middlebury
on Exchange Street, which misnomerously is an ugly little
industrial road that goes through an ugly little industrial
park. The soap factory is in a big corrugated building,
quite ugly, but what the hey, they make soap, and Carol is
happy with her soap. I deigned to sit there and guard her
purse while she snuffled all the soapy scents: she ended up
spending less than $20 there, yay. And we both got to go to

Otter Creek, where we tasted several things out of wax paper
cups (the girl pourer apologized: their dishwasher was on
the fritz) -

White Sail - less objectionable than many, a mostly natural
set of tastes, coriander and citrus, quite light; I'd drink
one if it was free and it was over 99F outside;

Copper ale - yeasty, rich Altbier style, something that I've
had periodically over the years and have gotten sozzled on
more than once: I actually like the bottled version better
than this one;

Wolaver's Farmhouse - another rich brown ale, a bit too
overtly malty for my preference, but pretty respectable;

IPA - a little mild, innocuous;

and Stout, which was kind of average, maybe less stout than
usual, but with a nice creamy head.

Though growlers of the Copper were on sale for $4.50, we
left empty-handed.

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